Dealergate: Stats demonstrate that Chrysler Dealers likely shuttered on a partisan basis

Dealergate: Stats demonstrate that Chrysler Dealers likely shuttered on a partisan basis

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Interesting. Wonder if there is any truth to this.

Controversial topic: gay marriage

There are some topics I try to stay away from simply for the sake of avoiding argument.  One such topic has been gay marriage.  I’m very much a “live and let live” kind of person, much to the chagrin of my Southern Baptist mother and Church of Christ father.  While I am quite the fiscal conservative, elsewise I consider myself to be a moderate libertarian.  Do what you want, as long as it doesn’t affect me.  But I’m getting off topic.

I’ve always struggled with the words to express how I feel about gay marriage and how it relates to government and religious preferences.  Massachusetts blogger Bruce has managed to find the words.  In response to this comment on a recent blog entry of his:

As for gay marriage, Bruce, I will never ever understand your support of it. If we actually had the conservative government we want and need, it would never even see the light of day. The reason? It’s wrong, pure and simple. Some thing are what they are, regardless of what your personal opinion is. Additionally, what you are missing is that this is only a spearhead for a counterculture movement that has NO intention of stoping at only making marriage for gays and lesbians legal. How you (collectively) can’t see that, is beyond my comprehension, given what I know of your ideals, Bruce, and others on this site.

Bruce responded with this:

My position has always been that IF the government insists on being in the business of marrying people, than they should make such a contract available to any two people who want to pony up the license fees and enter into such a contract with the State.

In my mind, that of a limited government conservative, the less the government interferes in our lives the better.

I’ll always side with the rights of the individual over the power of the government. When we let the government define, regulate, and ENFORCE our personal morals and morally-driven behavioral choices, we’re f***ed.

Also, I’ll never understand the argument about preserving the “sanctity” of civil marriage. There’s no “sanctity” to it.

If a man and a woman want to get married by the government, they do not need to (a) declare, under oath, their love to one another, (b) promise to cohabitate, (c) pledge to reproduce and raise a family, or (d) swear fidelity to one another.

The only thing “sacred” and non-negotiable is the license fee.

If this same couple wants to enter into the covenant of Holy Matrimony through the place of worship of their choosing, it’s simply NONE of the government’s business.

The bill passed by the NH senate essentially tells the State they can’t do sh*t to affect how any church or religion chooses to handle this issue.

Would you have the government placing restrictions and limitations on religious institutions and their ceremonial rites and observances?

This.  This is my take on gay marriage.  My socially conservative family and friends might not like it, but it is what it is (I hate that phrase).  Those are the words I have always searched for when this topic arose.  Thanks, Bruce.

The Peanut

We had our 4D ultrasound yesterday.  Behold, my offspring!

He’s so cute.  Don’t you agree?

Gripe

Why do people slow down on the interstate when they see a cop on the side of the road with someone already pulled over?  THEY ALREADY HAVE SOMEONE.  They’re not going to just drop what they’re doing and start chasing you instead.  Just maintain the same speed and I promise the cop will not chase you.

It’s been one week since you looked at me…

Well, maybe closer to two.

Still here.  Still pregnant, thankfully.  Almost 26 weeks.  My wedding rings no longer fit comfortably, so for the last week I have been wearing a sterling silver replica of The One Ring (yes, from Lord of the Rings).  I finally bought a reasonable replacement to wear for the duration of the pregnancy.  Check out the baby blog if you are interested in more of this sort of thing.

Let’s see, what’s been going on…  I don’t know.  Work has been really busy.  I can’t wait until Danielle comes back from maternity leave.

Oh, Zac got a promotion at work, along with a hefty pay rise.  That extra money will be quite nice when paying for day care and baby-related items, as well as random projects around the house.

We got new hardwood floors installed a couple of weeks ago.  They look really good.  My mom came to visit about two weekends ago and helped me get the nursery in order.  It looks pretty good.  Now we have to finish painting the guest room and hang some curtains, and we should be done with indoor household projects for a little while.

We’ve had some family in town this weekend.  My father-in-law, sister-in-law, and 8-year old nephew came to visit.  SIL and nephew flew to Maryland from Atlanta to see nephew’s dad for spring break, and FIL is going to be hanging around with us this week and helping Zac finish all the random projects that he starts and never finishes.  I’ve never had anyone stay with me for an entire week before, so this will be interesting. 

To entertain our houseguests, last night we took them to Medieval Times.  It was really a lot of fun.  We have lived here three years and never been because it is usually $50 a person to get in.  I guess the economy has had an effect on period-themed restaurants as well, because they were running a special:  4 adults for $100.  Not a bad deal.  When we got there, we upgraded to the royalty package, which guaranteed us a spot on the first three rows.  This was odd because there are only five rows of tables.  Anywho, we ended up on Table 1 of the Red Section, right next to the arena (and the king).  I had always heard that the food was not that great, but I thought it was pretty good.  They had tomato bisque soup and garlic bread, and entire half of a roasted chicken, a rib, roasted potatoes, and a hot apple turnover.  Yummy.  And yes, as everyone has pointed out to me, there was no silverware in medieval times, hence there is no silverware AT Medieval Times.  Har har har.  It was a very nice time, and very engaging.  It’s the kind of place where you have to really make up your mind to get into it to really enjoy it.  Everyone wore their paper crowns with gusto, and nephew got a wooden sword and shield.  You could buy more festive headware and weaponry, but I was fine with my paper crown.  It was really fun to just check your cool at the door and act like a dork for an evening.  It’s not the type of thing I’d do on a weekly basis, but every now and again it will probably be something we take out-of-town guests to experience. 

Shall I even get into politics now?  I don’t really want to.  President Obama has pretty much lived up to my expectations of him so far, which really isn’t saying much.  He better step it up if he’s going to save the world like everyone expects him to.  And please, put Joe Biden in an office somewhere and hide the key.  That man is a joke.

I’ve started reading Watchmen, but I don’t think I want to see the movie.  I’ve heard too much about graphic violence, sex, and language to dissuade me from paying to see it.  And weekly I hear horror stories about people bringing their children to see this movie.  Why would you bring a child to see an R-rated movie in the first place?  I hope their children have nightmares and keep them up all hours of the night.  They deserve it.

I’m really quite boring nowadays. 

I guest we can talk a little LOST.  I’m very intrigues with the way things are turning out.  I have always been a Sawyer fan, and last season I was not happy with him at all.  He had turned into a sniveling, weak little man tromping around the jungle.  LaFleur brought him completely away from that for me.  He was back in his prime, but this time with a purpose.  He’s running a three-year long con, has fallen in love (or as in love as he can be with a non-Kate) with Juliet, and is head of Dharma Security.  I love him and Juliet together for some reason.  I saw it coming a mile away and didn’t think I would like it, but their relationship seems so easy, whereas Sawyer and Kate and Jack and Juliet seemed too tumultuous and too forced, respectively.  I loved the part where Sawyer went out and talked to Alpert in Dharmaland.  For some reason I love Richard Alpert.  Must be the eyeliner.  But the way he walked in there with his torch and his gigantic balls of steel just made my heart go pitter patter.  Sawyer’s dressing down of Alpert was awesome.  Right now I’m torn between thinking that the left behind Losties are full-on Dharma, or whether they are infiltrating Dharma on behalf of the Others.  I mean, they all know the Purge is coming.  You would think with that kind of foreknowledge they would align themselves with the winning side.  I know I would.  Perhaps they don’t think they will be there in 15 or so years (the Purge happened on Ben’s birthday in 1992).  But what if they are?  Are they willing to risk it?  I don’t think I would be.  Is anyone else glad that Charlotte is gone?  I am.  She was annoying.  I really don’t want Kate to mess up Sawyer and Juliet.  But judging by the look on Sawyer’s face when he saw her, I think she will.  Boo.  Can’t wait for this week’s episode.

There you go.

I hate snow. Snowy snow snow.

There it falls down. Down into my yard. Yucky yuck yuck.

I really don’t like snow that much. Sure, it’s pretty, but when it’s over there is a muddy, nasty, wet mess in the yard.  It started snowing here around 11:00 a.m., and it has not stopped.  It has snowed hard for several hours, and now it is starting to pile up on the roads.  Maybe I won’t have to go to work tomorrow.

The satellite doesn’t seem to be working, but at least the internet is up and running.  A bit slow, but at least it works. 

Hubby is about to brave the icy streets in search of dinner.  Hopefully the Walmart won’t be full of savages on a search for milk and bread.  We have milk.  We need no bread.  We only require a frozen lasagna.  Make it happen, hubby. 

My mom (and her dumb little dog that my big dogs hate) is here helping me paint the nursery, and now she’s stuck here until tomorrow.  On the plus side, that gives us more time to work.  We’ve been taking it a little easier today since we know she’s not going anywhere.  On the negative side, that’s more time the little yapster has to be in my house terrorizing my dogs.  They really want to eat her.  It’s hard to keep two 60-pound dogs away from one 15-pound dog.  But we’ve done okay so far.  And we only have one wall and some baseboard left to paint!  Then I can start arranging the furniture.  Hooray!

Gah, it is so gross outside.  I hate it.

Pregnancy posts…

I’m going to do my best to keep this blog free of pregnancy-related topics from here on out. If you are interested in what is going on in my uterus, feel free to jump on over to burkslist.wordpress.com, and be sure to leave a comment over there so I know you’re reading and can comment on your blog as well. Kthxbye.

Pregnancy post: The results are in…

We’re on Team Blue! Our little Peanut is a boy! We are both beyond thrilled. I have thought it was a boy all along, and Zac didn’t have an opinion on the matter until this morning, when he told me right before we left the house that he thought it was a girl. But ha ha! I was right (as usual). Mommas just know these things. And so did the majority of my family and friends. Seems like everyone thought Peanut is a boy. I am so excited to finally be able to refer to him as a “he” without worrying about giving a baby girl a complex. I have been calling Peanut “he” ever since I found out I was pregnant. Just a hunch, I guess.

Our big ultrasound today was wonderful. Our favorite technician, Melissa, did the honors. I really like her because she explains every little thing she is looking at to us and why she is looking for it, explains the measurements she is taking and why, and always gives us lots of pictures. All of Peanut’s organs are present and accounted for, and everything seems to be in good working order. He has a big ol’ head, just like his daddy, and all of his fingers and toes. Melissa said that everything looked perfect! The machine we had to use today did not have a CD burner on it, so we didn’t get a disk of all the photos she took, but Zac brought the camera and got a video of the whole thing. I have attempted to upload a video, but for some reason it won’t work, so I’ll have to figure it out later. Suffice it to say, Peanut is a cutie pie, and I love love love him so much!

Pregnancy Post: Week 19

Well, 19 weeks and 2 days. I would have updated on Tuesday, but Zac had a basketball game and we didn’t have time to take my belly picture before he had to leave, and by the time we got home we were both exhausted. They lost the game, but I got there just in time to see Zac score the first basket!

Peanut should weigh around 8 1/2 ounces and is about 6 inches long, but s/he is probably a bit bigger since we are measuring ahead by about a week. His/her arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of his/her body now. His/her kidneys continue to make urine and the hair on his/her scalp is sprouting. A waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on his/her skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid.

The great and powerful internet says that I will really start growing soon, but the internet has not been paying attention to my belly during the past three weeks. It is really starting to stick out there. I’m getting more comments at work, and even a few belly pokes. Those maternity pants don’t do anything for my figure, either. I had to buy them too big for the length, and the top has to be stuffed underneath a Bella Band so they won’t fall down. I’m sure my wide backside will grow into them eventually, though. It’s not so much the belly I’m worried about getting big, it’s my butt, thighs, and the girls upstairs. One of these days I’m actually going to get back on the treadmill. Gotta stay in shape for the maternity portraits.

I am still feeling fine. I think I’ve even gotten a little bit of energy back. Sometimes I tend to get a little cranky for no reason, like yesterday at work. Right after lunch for some reason I turned into Mrs. Angry McGrumpypants. Everything ticked me off, nobody could say anything right, and my routine operations became huge annoyances with which I did NOT want to deal. But I was better today, thank goodness. Contrary to popular belief, I don’t like being grumpy. Hopefully those types of episodes will be few and far between, especially with the added weight of being responsible for a partner at work. It has been a long time since I have worked for a partner, and they do things a little differently than the average associate. They are usually more set in their ways and resistant to change, which is unfortunate for the particular partner I work with now because change was thrust upon him with virtually no warning or time to prepare. But we’ll make it through.

In other news, we ordered Peanut’s furniture on Sunday! It is so beautiful. I had been looking at the set for months, but just showed it to Zac on Sunday morning after church. He said he really liked it, so I said to get in the car and let’s go look at it. It is so very seldom that we agree on anything having to do with home decor or furniture, I knew I needed to take advantage of the moment. Seriously, we got into a shouting match at Rooms To Go when attempting to choose a sofa for downstairs last year. People were staring. Anyway, we headed on over to Georgia Baby and Kids Sunday afternoon to “kick the tires” of the furniture, so to speak, meaning I shook the crib and bookcases to see if they were solid and sturdy. They were. Behold our baby’s new digs, the Munire Deco:

Very pretty. And the crib converts into a full size bed, so it should last a lifetime. Now we just need to find out what sex the baby is so that we can pick out bedding and paint colors and start getting the nursery in shape. Monday cannot come soon enough.

And now I need to brag on my husband for a moment. Back in September or so, Zac spent about $500 on a 1985 Camaro that he wanted to be able to tinker with and fix up. It runs, but it is old and ugly and beat up. He started ripping out the interior and researching what parts he wanted to get to go in it, and then we found out in October that I was pregnant. Other household projects crept up slowly, and the Camaro hasn’t been touched since late October. It is just sitting in our garage, taking up space. Well, when I got home today, Zac told me that he had been thinking about the future and where his priorities needed to shift, and he informed me that he had arranged to donate the Camaro to the American Association for Cancer Research. His cousin Greg died last March from cancer, and Zac thought it would be a good idea to contribute to a cause that had touched his family in such a deep way. He knew that with a baby on the way and a house that seems to be revolting against us, he would not have time to tinker around with a car. I am glad to have it out of my garage, but I am also proud of my husband for putting our family first and making the baby his priority. I wub him.

RIP, Lux Interior.

Sigh.  How sad.